Hinky dink kenna biography

Michael Kenna (August 20, 1857 [a] – October 9, 1946), also known as "Hinky Dink", was an American politician who served as alderman from Chicago's 1st ward.
“Hinky Dink” Kenna and “Bathhouse John” Coughlin created in the 1890s a First Ward political machine based on graft and protection money.
Michael “Hinky Dink” Kenna (1858-1946) was born in a shack at Polk and Sholto Streets and left school at the age of 10 to sell newspapers.

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The First Ward Ball

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Michael “Hinky Dink” Kenna (20 August 1858 – 9 October 1946) was Alderman, and then Committeeman, of Chicago’s First Ward from 1897 to 1946. The diminutive Kenna began his career as a newsboy in 1868, and eventually purchased a loop newsstand that became exceedingly successful.

In the late 1800s, Hinky Dink purchased a tavern on Clark Street called The Workingman’s Exchange, where he traded food and alcohol for votes. Kenna was elected Alderman in 1897, when he teamed with fellow First Ward Alderman (each ward had two Aldermen until 1923) “Bathhouse” John Coughlin (August 15, 1860 – November 11, 1938) to create a powerful political machine in what was then called The Levee District, the area just north of 22nd Street along the east bank of the Chicago River.

Hinky Dink and Bathhouse John meted out favors and indulgences in return for power, without any regard for morality or propriety and were called “The Lords of the Levee.” The two also led the Gray Wolves of Chicago.

By the early years of the 20th Century, the Le

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“Hinky Dink” Kenna and “Bathhouse John” Coughlin created in the 1890s a First Ward political machine based on graft and protection money from the saloons, brothels, and gambling halls of the Levee district, just south of the Loop.

Coughlin began his working life as a scrubber in Loopbath houses and opened the first bathhouse of his own in 1882. He prospered through connections with politicians, gamblers, and horse-racing enthusiasts, who stimulated in him a lifelong habit of sartorial flamboyance.

Kenna, a small, quiet, discreet man, ran a saloon called the Workingman's Exchange, where he served generous quantities of beer along with free lunches. Unlike Coughlin he was personally frugal, and became quite wealthy through the business of politics.

For over a decade Kenna and Coughlin together organized an annual First Ward Ball notorious for outrageous costumes and uproarious behavior. The ball, which among other entertainments featured